The Ball
by KateCayce
Summary: This story takes place a year or so after Second Chance. The Veritas team is invited to a huge ball they run into old enemies and new mysteries?613 Completed
1. The Invitation

**THE BALL**

1 -

It was a normal day at the Veritas Foundation: Kate, Calvin and Juliet were hammering out a translation problem, Maggie and Nikko were entering information on a new artifact into the database, and Vincent was going over intelligence reports from his outside contacts. The only person not working was Solomon, and he was standing in the entrance. He had just answered the doorbell, and had been surprised at the messenger handing him a large envelope. He was also confused at the return address on the envelope.

"Hey, Kate, you know anyone by the name of duPre?" Solomon walked toward her, opening the envelope.

"Not personally, but we both know several in France."

Solomon had the envelope open and was scanning the invitation that was inside. "Do you know of an Ursula duPre?"

Kate thought for a moment. "No, I don't think so…." Kate's face went from puzzled to shocked in an instant. "Nooo, it can't be." She jumped up and grabbed at the card in Solomon's hands. "By God, it is!"

"What?" Solomon looked at Kate, confused.

Kate looked up at Solomon, a smile playing on her face. "Paul's boys and I did some research on a Madame duPre. She gave Uncle Paul a pretty hefty donation and he wanted to know a bit about her before accepting it. We found out that she is very rich."

Vincent had moved across the room with the rest of the team. "How rich?"

Kate smiled at her husband. "You know a fellow named Croesus?"

Vincent laughed. "Not personally, but I have heard of him."

Kate got serious. "Well, from what Gianni and I found out, Madame duPre apparently makes Croesus look like small potatoes."

Solomon glanced at the card and then at Kate. "Just how rich is she?"

"We could never find everything because she has so many dummy corporations and holding companies and some things may not be in her name completely…."

"Kate, how much?" Solomon was getting frustrated.

"Okay. She is probably the richest person on the planet. But on paper she doesn't look that rich."

Solomon looked at Vincent. "Why would she invite us to a party?"

Vincent just raised an eyebrow and shrugged a shoulder. "Who knows?"

Kate's jaw dropped. "We are invited to a party?" She grabbed the card out of Solomon's hands. "You are cordially invited to the annual Boule Formelle at the estate of Madame Ursula duPre. It is to be held Saturday next, beginning at 8pm."

"So this is a big party?" Nikko didn't look too eager.

"Big party is an understatement." Kate was still staring at the paper in her hands.

"What do you mean?" Solomon was still confused by his sister-in-law.

"This," Kate brandished the card at everyone, "this is the single most important shindig that we could be invited to. We will be noticed on a global scale like we have never been seen before. If we are found lacking, then all we have worked for in the last twenty years WILL BE FOR NOTHING."

"So you are saying that this is a very important meeting?" Vincent tried to hide his amusement at his wife's shouting.

Kate stopped for a moment and thought. "I wonder if…."

"If what?" Solomon was confused again.

Kate grabbed the nearest phone and dialed. After a moment, someone answered. "Hey, did you…. Gotcha. Bye."

"What was that about?" Vincent asked his wife.

"Paul and his family got one also." Kate looked over at Solomon. "And your parents did also."

"So every one associated with the Veritas Foundation will be there." Vincent clarified.

"Duh! Everyone who we have acquired as enemies are probably on the invite list also. Along with our allies, and probably all the big wigs in Dorna."

"So we should probably book a suite at the Ritz in Paris and go shopping for appropriate clothes?" Maggie waded into the fray.

Kate hung her head and took a deep breath. "Yes, we should do that. But you guys need to understand how important this is."

Solomon took Kate by the shoulders. "I think we get that this is important. Why are you going ballistic at this?"

Kate met his eyes. "Because this is something that even our benefactor cannot protect us from. If we screw up at this ball, we are done. The Veritas Foundation may still exist, but we won't be able to function at the most basic level."

Juliet popped up. "So we need to have nice dresses?"

Kate looked over towards Juliet. "Not just nice but couture ball gowns and you guys don't need tuxedos but white tie and tails."

Calvin groaned. "We need to be penguins?"

Kate laughed along with the rest of the team. "Yep, 'fraid so." She looked over at Solomon. "I need to get into the vault and get some of the goodies in there."

"What do you mean?" He was confused.

Kate looked at the invitation in her hands for a moment before answering. "Haley and I had put some jewelry of our mothers' into storage after she 'died' since neither of us wore anything that fancy. There are a few pieces that Maggie, Juliet and I can wear to the ball."

Maggie looked over at Kate and sighed. "Can I wear that bracelet…?"

Kate grinned. "You mean the one you have been lusting after since I showed you a picture of it?"

Maggie laughed. "That's the one! And how do you think that that tiara would look on Juliet with the matching earrings?"

Kate looked over at Juliet. "You would need your hair up in a kinda retro look, and definitely a strapless gown."

"And the amethyst teardrop for you," Solomon gripped Kate's shoulders.

Kate looked over her shoulder at her brother/mentor. "You read my mind. I've always been partial to them."

"I remember. Haley always said they belonged to only you, not to the two of you."

"Neither Hale or our mother looked very good in them. They're both too dark in their coloring."

"I hate to break up this reminiscing, but we need to get our prep work underway," Vincent broke in.

"Okay. Ladies, shall we?" Kate grabbed her bag, cell and keys as Maggie and Juliet did the same. "We'll be back later boys."

Nikko groaned. "We won't see them for hours."

Vincent laughed as he mussed Nikko's hair. "It may be days."


	2. Gettting Ready

2 –

Nearly a week later, the Veritas team is preparing for the ball in their suite of rooms at the Paris Ritz Hotel. The men are the only ones in the main salon, since the women are still getting dressed in one of the bedrooms.

"How long do you think they're gonna be?" Nikko was letting his father adjust the white tie that was choking him.

"They should be ready soon. I can't see your aunt wanting to miss this party." Solomon's eyes shot over to Vincent.

"I know she is nervous about what could happen tonight." Vincent's concern for his wife was written all over his face.

"Well, she's staying pretty cool for a nervous lady." Maggie made her entrance in a red, off the shoulder dress that perfectly fit her figure and her personality.

"Wow." Nikko was stunned.

"Just the reaction we were hoping for."

Solomon came over to Maggie, took her hand, and after bowing over it, kissed it. "And you two were right. The bracelet looks good on you."

Maggie laughed. "And Kate promised not to tell me how much it's worth."

Nikko didn't hear the conversation that was taking place between his Dad and Maggie because Juliet came out of the bedroom at that moment. She looked so beautiful he couldn't breathe.

Vincent heard Nikko's gasp and chuckled. "She won't bite."

Nikko looked at Vincent with eyes that didn't see. "But she's so…."

"Beautiful? You better go and claim her." Vincent nodded Juliet's way.

Nikko practically stumbled over to Juliet, stopping just short of colliding with her. "Hi."

Juliet was as impressed with Nikko in his penguin suit as he was with her dress. "Hi yourself."

"He's kind of tongue-tied since he saw you come out." Vincent told Juliet from across the room.

Juliet smiled as she looked Nikko in the eye. "Really? How do you think I look?" She slowly twirled around, her deep blue dress billowing slightly.

"I think you're killing him Juliet." Calvin joked from the chair he was sitting in, reading some last minute intelligence on the mission.

No one noticed Kate entering the room except for her husband. Vincent thought he was falling in love all over again, seeing her there in the violet dress that was slightly darker than the amethysts at her throat, ears and wrist.

Kate turned around because she felt Vincent looking at her. When she saw the look in his eyes, she smiled.

Vincent walked across the room, unaware that everyone else had stopped talking and was watching him and Kate. When he reached her, he leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I think you look more beautiful now than when we first met," he whispered in her ear.

"I can't wait until this is over and we can come back to our room," Kate smiled up at him.

Everyone jumped slightly as the telephone rang loudly. Maggie, who was the closest, picked it up and thanked whoever was calling. "Our cars are ready to take us to the ball."

Solomon and Kate looked at each other. "Are we ready?" Solomon asked.

"As ready as we'll ever be," Kate demurred.


	3. The Actual Ball Oh No!

3 –

The cars pulled up in front of a huge chalet a nice drive outside of Paris. The place was awash in lights, and people were getting out of other cars in front of them.

"Can I just say Wow?" Juliet's eyes were huge, taking in the unfolding spectacle.

"I know we've been to some fancy parties, but this one is…." Calvin was as stunned as Juliet.

"The fanciest?" Nikko finished Cal's sentence.

Calvin got out of the car first and Nikko followed, helping Juliet out. The other car pulled up behind, and Solomon helped Maggie out, while Vincent helped Kate.

"So whatcha think boy?" Solomon said quietly to his son.

"Juliet said wow before, so I think I'll go with that too."

Kate came over to them. "You got the invite? I think we need to give it to the major domo over there."

Solomon pulled the envelope out of his coat pocket. ""Yeah, I see him." He looked at everyone for a moment. "Ready?" Each of them nodded their consent. "Then let's go."

They walked up the outside staircase to where the major domo was handling the invitations. He had one of his footmen escort the team into the chalet, and into a huge ballroom.

"The Veritas Foundation, New York office." The footman's voice boomed across the ballroom, audible over the small orchestra presiding at the other end of the ballroom.

Each member of the team was scanning both the crowd and the room for any familiar faces, both friendly and hostile.

Kate groaned. "I just saw my mother and her lapdog son Tollan."

Solomon barked a laugh. "Yeah, I just saw Bella Nicholson. Things could get interesting."

Vincent squeezed his wife's hand. "You can finally meet Gyatso."

Kate smiled up at her husband. "I can't wait."

Calvin came up behind Juliet and Nikko. "I see Ali Hassan Rif here, so you better be careful," he whispered in their ears.

Nikko glanced at his buddy. "And Cosimo deMedici is here too."

Cal's face hardened. "I'd like to show him.…"

Solomon clasped Calvin's shoulder. "There are more than a few people we'd like to hurt, but that's not why we're here. Now mingle and find out why we've been invited."

Solomon turned around and was immediately enveloped into his mother's arms. "I couldn't wait another minute!" Victoria Zond declared to her son.

"You mother's been itching for you to get here." Alexander Zond pointed out to his son as they embraced.

"Kate's been the same way. She seems to think something's up." Solomon told his dad as they watched Vicky and Kate admire each other.

"Don't blame the girl for being a bit paranoid."

"She's more than a little paranoid." Vincent waded into the conversation.

"Hey, Vincent, been watching my family's back?" Alex shook Vincent's hand.

"Tonight like always." Vincent had to laugh at the man who felt like his father-in-law.

"Is everyone going to just stand here or are we going to mingle?" Paul Taylor and his wife Theresa came up to join the Zond/Cayce family fray.

Kate looked at her uncle. "I just have a funny feeling…."

"A funny feeling about what, Katherine?"

Kate closed her eyes and tried to count to ten. "Hello, Mother," she got out between clenched teeth.

"Katherine, you are looking quite splendid tonight." Alex was trying to be nice to his former friend.

"I was rather surprised to see the Foundation on the guest list. I didn't realize that you socialized in these circles."

"Mother, we were invited by Madame duPre herself." Kate baited her mother.

Katherine looked shocked. "The old bat invited you herself? She seems to be letting in all kinds of rabble these days, like that Rif character." She looked over Kate's shoulder. "There is someone I really must greet. Please excuse me?" She practically ran over to another couple who were talking with her son Tollan.

"Good riddance…." Kate muttered under her breath.

"You really shouldn't say that about your mother, Katie." Vicky admonished.

Kate looked her aunt in the eye. "She may have given birth to me, but she abandoned me a long time ago. I think of you and Uncle Alex, Uncle Paul and Aunt Theresa and Haley and Solomon as my parents."

Vicky dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. "You are going to ruin my makeup, you know."

Kate hugged her aunt. "But it's a good thing."

Meanwhile…. Nikko and Juliet were swept up in the merry atmosphere, and had joined the throng on the dance floor. There were waltzing passably well when Nikko felt a tap on his shoulder.

"May I cut in?" Rif asked politely.

"I don't think the lady wants to dance with you." Nikko challenged.

"Boy, I could have you taken outside and beaten…."

"That won't be necessary, will it?" Juliet moved between the two men.

Rif looked at her for a moment, and then turned his back and walked away.

"You didn't have to play knight in shining armor, you know."

"Who knows what he would have done to you if I hadn't?"

Juliet batted her eyelashes at Nikko. "We are in the middle of a huge party. Nothing could have happened."

Nikko pulled her closer. "Don't be too sure."

Across the room at the buffet table, Calvin was sampling some of the dishes when he realized someone was standing next to him. He glanced over, and wanted to grab the man next to him and shove his face into the table.

"You are very restrained this evening, Mr. Banks," Cosimo deMedici observed.

"I am resisting my instinct to kill you for what you did to Sophie."

Cosimo laughed lightly. "You think you could lay a hand on me, boy? I have bodyguards nearby who would prevent you from ever touching me."

Cal straightened up and then walked away, muttering "I don't need this."

A few feet away, Solomon was accepting a flute of champagne from a liveried footman when a woman's hand grabbed the flute from him.

"You shouldn't accept alcohol from strangers, Solomon." Bella smiled as she tipped the flute to her lips.

"No just not from you."

"I was a little miffed that you stole the skull from me."

Solomon threw back his head and laughed. "That's rich, Bella. I just prevented you from double crossing me."

Bella pouted. "I wasn't going to do that. You just can't trust me, can you?"

"I wouldn't trust her if she held the key to my life." Heinrich Cordova came up behind Bella.

"Why don't I leave you two to catch up?" Solomon began to edge away from the coming fight.

In a small privacy alcove, Vincent brought the two most important people in his life together.

"Master Gyatso, this is my wife, Kate." Vincent bowed to his mentor.

"I am so pleased to finally meet you. Vincent has told me so much about you." Kate was in awe of the man before her.

Gyatso smiled. "And I have heard much about you. Your husband is very proud of your work."

Kate smiled back. "And I am very proud of him, also."

5


	4. Meeting with Madame

4 –

A short while later, the Veritas team, including the European contingent, found themselves in the same privacy alcove.

"Hey, did one of the footmen direct you over here?" Kate looked up at Solomon.

"Yeah…."

The major domo came up to the group. "Madame wishes to speak to you in her private study." He turned and began walking away, expecting that they would follow.

Kate, Vincent and Solomon looked at each other, puzzled, and then moved to follow with the rest following suit. After they made their way through several of the lower-story rooms, they began to climb a wide marble covered staircase. When they reached the third floor, the major domo led them down a long hallway with paintings covering the walls. At the end of the hall, the major domo opened a door and gestured for the team to go inside, shutting the door behind them.

Kate looked around the room. It was a large study with plenty of comfortable sofas and chairs to seat the entire Veritas Foundation.

"Feel kinda trapped?" Kate whispered to Vincent and Solomon.

Solomon barked a laugh. "Oh, yeah!"

"Should we sit down?" Nikko asked.

"Certainly, you should." Madame DuPre stood in the door that they had just entered. She was a very old woman with a regal bearing and startlingly white hair, and was wearing a simply cut silver gown.

"Madame DuPre, I assume?" Solomon moved through the room to greet this unknown woman.

"Yes, Doctor Zond. Please help me to my desk." Solomon gave the woman his arm, and they crossed to her antique secretary-style desk.

After Madame was seated, the Veritas team all took seats – Solomon, Kate and Vincent on the chairs immediately in front of her desk, and the rest scattered on the other sofas and chairs.

"If I may be so bold, why did you invite us to your ball?" Alexander Zond asked.

"Professor Zond, I have had my eye on the Veritas Foundation for a very long time. I do have a personal stake in your work, Doctor Zond. May I call you Solomon?" Madame's attention shifted from father to son.

"Certainly, Madame. I do have to wonder what your personal stake is in Veritas." Solomon was confused.

"Very simple. Kate." Madame gestured to Solomon's sister-in-law.

Kate's head jerked up. "What? What do you mean I am your personal connection to Veritas?"

Madame smiled at Kate. "You were in this house several times as a child. Don't you remember?"

Kate looked at Vincent and Solomon, shaking her head. "You'd think I would remember being in a house like this, but I don't." Kate's eyes drifted as a few things began to click into place from her very early memories. "Wait, I thought it was a museum?"

"Yes, that is what your father told you."

Kate was even more confused. "Why would Dad tell me it was a museum?"

"To keep it from your mother. He didn't want her to know that he was bringing you and Haley to see me."

"And you are?"

"Your grandmother. Jonathan Cayce's mother." Madame settled back in her chair as she watched Kate digest this bit of information.

"What? You're like my great-grandmother?" Nikko's eyes were huge at this exchange.

Madame smiled. "Yes, Nicholas, I am your great-grandmother."

Madame's attention shifted back to the three in front of her. "I also have another son. Solomon, you and Vincent both know him from dealings with the Foundation. In fact, there he is right now." Madame gestured to the man in the doorway.

Jacques DeMolay walked over to the desk and bent to kiss his mother. "You are certainly a sly one for inviting Veritas to the ball."

Madame looked at her son. "They needed to know the things you aren't willing to tell them. Things that affect their future."

Jacques bowed to his mother. "Fire away, mother."

"Solomon, you know my son as your benefactor." Everyone let out a gasp as they looked at Solomon.

Solomon's attention was on Madame. "Yes, your son is our benefactor."

Madame shifted her attention to Vincent. "And you, Vincent know him as one of the Council of Nine of Dorna?"

Vincent ignored the buzz around him. "Yes, I know Jacques DeMolay from Dorna."

"And my son sent you to Solomon and Haley all those years ago?"

Solomon and Kate both looked at Vincent, but he ignored both of them. "Yes, DeMolay sent me to work with Solomon and Haley to find the truth."

"I thought you came to us because you hated Dorna." Kate asked in a very small voice.

Vincent turned to her. "I do hate Dorna. DeMolay had known for quite some time that I was growing more disgusted with the tactics they were using against you, Haley, and Solomon."

Jacques decided now was good time to jump in. "I may be a member of Dorna, but that doesn't make me their puppet, and I certainly don't have to believe in all their tactics. I knew Vincent was chaffing under Tollan's thumb, and was looking for a way out. I just gave him a reason to leave."

Kate was still trying to comprehend everything. "But you and me, and…."

Vincent turned in his seat so he could put his hands on either side of her face. "WE are real. Nothing I have told you about us is a lie."

Jacques chuckled to himself. "In fact, Vincent began to hate Dorna just after he met Kate in Paris."

Kate looked over at her newfound uncle and smiled. "Love conquers all?"

"In fact, part of the reason to send Vincent to Veritas was to keep you together." Jacques smiled back at his niece.

Vincent narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Jacques held up the flute of champagne in his hand and pondered it a moment. "It seems that your destinies are intertwined more than you or Kate realize."

"What do you mean by that?" Kate was getting more confused.

"Taking into consideration your separate ancestries, any offspring of your could be as powerful as Nikko." Jacques's eyes moved from Vincent to the young man.

"What? What do you mean?" Nikko sat straighter on the sofa.

"Nikko, have you been noticing strange occurrences lately?" Madame asked.

Nikko looked back and forth between his father, great-grandmother, his aunt and Vincent. "I…," he stammered, blushing. "Yeah, I've noticed some things."

Nikko got up, and reached his hand out towards Madame's desk. After a moment, the small statue of Cupid moved from the edge of the desk to Nikko's outstretched hand. "Do you mean things like that?"

Solomon rose from his seat to face his son. "What?"

Nikko dipped his head bashfully. "I did that the first time after we got back from Chateau Rene."

"You were given that particular power the day you mother disappeared," Madame explained.

Nikko looked shocked. "You mean that light…."

"Yes, Nicholas. The light gave you that power because of who you are and who you are from."

"And he is from…?" Solomon asked the old woman.

Madame smiled. "He is from me, of course! I don't look as old as I really am."

"And that is…?" Vincent asked.

Madame looked at her son Jacques and then at Kate. "I am the last of my kind on Earth."

"You're an Ancient." Solomon didn't ask because the puzzle was coming together for him.

Madame closed her eyes and nodded. "Yes, I am what you younger generations refer to as an Ancient. I was one of the youngest, and my brethren chose some of us to stay here to watch over you," she said, looking sad. "I am the last one left here."

"So what does that mean?" Calvin asked.

"That means, young Doctor Banks, that I am very, very old. And anyone related to me by blood has great longevity."

"And special powers?" Nikko asked, grinning.

Madame laughed at the young man's question. "Yes, and special powers."

Jacques moved to sit on the edge of his mother's desk. "For instance, the Jacques DeMolay who was DaVinci's benefactor was not an ancestor of mine."

"What about the DeMolay who rode out from Chateau Rene with the map to find the Ring of Truth?" Solomon asked.

Jacques smiled. "That also was me."

"So you're almost a millennia?" Juliet asked.

"That is a few decades away."

Small groups began to chatter, trying to make sense of this news. Kate was silent, looking at her hands and thinking.


	5. Suprises

5-

"So you are telling me that my grandmother is older than the hills, my probable offspring hold a great deal of metaphysical power, and I have had a family this whole time! Did I leave anything out?" The room grew quiet again as Kate's temper flared.

Madame closed her eyes for a moment, and then looked at her granddaughter. "I am so very sorry at that part of my deception. It was never my intention to abandon you or Haley. I was not able to claim you or Haley since your parents were not actually dead. Too many people had a knife pressed figuratively to my throat."

Kate dashed away the tears that were falling. "I could excuse my mother for her abandonment because we were only a game to her, but you are my grandmother!"

"Katie, don't blame her for my mistake." Everyone's attention was drawn to the doorway where a tall, thin man was leaning.

Kate slowly turned in her chair and looked over her shoulder at the man. After a moment, she stood and walked quickly into his arms, burying her face in his coat.

"Jonnie?" Alexander Zond asked, recognizing his life-long friend.

The man nodded, but his attention was on the daughter he had not seen in over twenty-five years. "Shh, baby, calm down. I'm here now."

Kate moved back a bit so she could look at her father. "Daddy, why didn't you come back sooner?"

Jonathan stroked his hand over her cheek, wiping the tears. "I am sorry that I wasn't able to be there for you. I was prevented from contacting you for all these years by other people."

"Katherine?" Paul asked as he and Alexander moved towards their friend.

"She's part of it along with Dorna and a few others."

"Where have you been all this time?" Kate grabbed her father's lapels and shook him slightly.

Jonathan smiled, and then looked over at Solomon. "I have been with someone very precious to me." He looked at Kate. "Much like you are, sweetheart."

Solomon shook his head for a moment, then stopped suddenly. "Do you mean…?"

Jonathan smiled at his godson. "Yes."

Kate looked between her father and brother-in-law. "What are you guys talking about…." The last word trailed off as she realized of whom they were speaking. She looked her father in the eye as she asked "Is Haley still alive?"

Everyone gave a collective gasp of surprise as they waited for the answer.

Jonathan looked from Kate to Solomon to Nikko, and at everyone else in the room before answering. Then he looked at his daughter. "Yes, Haley is alive."

"Where is she?" Solomon moved closer to his father-in-law.

Jonathan held up a hand. "I can't tell you. But she is safe and counting the days until she can be with you again."

Solomon growled his frustration. "And why can't she come back?"

"Her work isn't done yet Solomon."

"My mom's alive?" Everyone's attention moved to Nikko. He was now standing, but was white as a sheet.

Jonathan moved out of Kate's embrace to stand in front of his grandson. "Nikko, she didn't want to leave you."

Nikko looked up at his grandfather with tears in his eyes. "Why did she?"

Jonathan cupped Nikko's cheek with his hand. "I wish Haley hadn't found the temple. Then she would have been with you all this time."

Solomon stood by his son and father-in-law. "The light that Nikko saw wasn't just a light, was it?"

Jonathan turned slightly so that one hand was on Nikko's shoulder, and then he placed the other on Solomon's shoulder. "No, the light opened Nikko up to his innate powers, and it was also a conduit that took Haley from that cave."

"To where?" Kate asked.

Jonathan smiled sadly. "It's not my place to tell you. You must work through the mysteries and find the solution for yourself."

"You mean we have to find all the pieces to the Ring of God before we can see Haley again?" Solomon's frustration was audible.

"My brother did not write the rules on this." Jacques defended his younger brother. "There are other forces at work that are more powerful."

"Which is why I invited you to this party." Madame shifted the focus back on herself.

"It's been a spectacular party so far," Kate told her grandmother, "Dad is back with us, Haley is alive out there, I have a grandma and uncle, and Nikko showed us his cool trick."

"I have one more card up my sleeve." Madame winked at everyone. "Solomon, you know how you have always been beholden to whoever writes the checks for your foundation?"

"Yes, Madame. It's been your son Jacques for most of those years." Solomon resumed sitting in front of Madame's desk.

"It is my intention to make you autonomous."

"Mother, do you think that's necessary?" Jacques was a bit miffed.

"Yes, I do."

"By autonomous you would mean?" Solomon was confused.

"I won't be on this earth much longer, and I have recently finalized my will."

"And that pertains to Veritas in what way?" Kate asked.

Madame looked at her granddaughter. "That means I have written my will so that the Veritas Foundation will receive most of my holdings, and all of you personally will receive healthy bequests."

"Oh my God!" Kate heard Calvin whisper.

Madame smiled at Paul's oldest son. "Yes, Calvin. It is an incredible amount of money for you all."

"I don't know what to say Madame." Solomon was flabbergasted.

"Just thank me for it, and use it wisely in your search for truth. Now, I must take my leave and go to bed since it is very late."

All the men in the room rose, as did the women, in respect of the grand dame. Jacques offered an arm to his mother and escorted her out.

At the doorway, Madame turned to face the group again. "Kate?"

"Yes Grandma?"

"If you were to take a pregnancy test right now, it will be positive. This child and Nikko will help you get to Haley." Madame turned and closed the door.

Kate let out the breath she had been holding and grinned at Vincent. "Wow!"

Vincent smiled as he embraced her. "I don't think wow quite covers things."

4


End file.
